President Donald Trump praised a St. Andrew Catholic School in Florida as the kind of school that disadvantaged children should be able to choose for their education.

Trump visited the school on Friday and told its principal that "the love you have for what you do is really fantastic."

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Trump arrived at Orlando International Airport on Air Force One around 1 p.m. He was joined on the plane by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Florida Gov. Rick Scott greeted Trump on the tarmac.

The president started his tour of the school with a visit to a fourth-grade classroom.

Trump shook hands with a pair of students who told him they were learning about the history of Florida.

The president singled out Denisha Merriweather, a former failing student who turned her life around once she chose a new school, saying, "We want millions more to have the chance to achieve the success that you're achieving."

He then joked to one girl who said she wanted to have her own business that she's "gonna make a lot of money. But don't run for politics."

Trump also praised Florida, noting that he captured it in last fall's election.

The visit is Trump’s first to a school as president and it gives a strong indication of where his priorities lie. Teachers unions were quick to criticize the plan, saying it shows Trump's hostility toward public schools and his intention to turn education into a profit-making industry.

There were more than 100 protesters outside the school when Trump arrived